A “critically endangered” hawksbill sea turtle was found dead and missing a flipper on a St. Johns County beach last Friday after getting entangled in plastic, officials said this week.
St. Johns County Beach Services posted a heartbreaking image of the turtle on Facebook showing it without its left appendage and white plastic cinched tightly around what remained.
“The cause of death is unknown, but plastic was found in its mouth and tied tightly around its front flipper, likely the reason the flipper fell off,” the agency wrote.
SJCBS said hawksbill turtles are rarely spotted in Florida, and no nests were recorded in St. Johns County in 2023.
The turtles get their distinctive name from their beak-like mouths and nearly went extinct because poachers hunted them for their shells, which are used for jewelry and glasses among other items.
“Now, properly disposing of trash and keeping it out of the ocean is one way we can help the species recover,” SJCBS wrote.
